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Are you a high-income small-business owner who doesn’t currently have a tax-advantaged retirement plan set up for yourself? A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) may be just what you need, and now may be a great time to establish one. A SEP has high contribution limits and is simple to set up. Best of all, there’s still time to establish a SEP for 2017 and make contributions to it that you can deduct on your 2017 income tax return.

2018 deadlines for 2017

A SEP can be set up as late as the due date (including extensions) of your income tax return for the tax year for which the SEP is to first apply. That means you can establish a SEP for 2017 in 2018 as long as you do it before your 2017 return filing deadline. You have until the same deadline to make 2017 contributions and still claim a potentially hefty deduction on your 2017 return.

Generally, other types of retirement plans would have to have been established by December 31, 2017, in order for 2017 contributions to be made (though many of these plans do allow 2017 contributions to be made in 2018).

High contribution limits

Contributions to SEPs are discretionary. You can decide how much to contribute each year. But be aware that, if your business has employees other than yourself: 1) Contributions must be made for all eligible employees using the same percentage of compensation as for yourself, and 2) employee accounts are immediately 100% vested. The contributions go into SEP-IRAs established for each eligible employee.

For 2017, the maximum contribution that can be made to a SEP-IRA is 25% of compensation (or 20% of self-employed income net of the self-employment tax deduction) of up to $270,000, subject to a contribution cap of $54,000. (The 2018 limits are $275,000 and $55,000, respectively.)

Simple to set up

A SEP is established by completing and signing the very simple Form 5305-SEP (“Simplified Employee Pension — Individual Retirement Accounts Contribution Agreement”). Form 5305-SEP is not filed with the IRS, but it should be maintained as part of the business’s permanent tax records. A copy of Form 5305-SEP must be given to each employee covered by the SEP, along with a disclosure statement.

Additional rules and limits do apply to SEPs, but they’re generally much less onerous than those for other retirement plans. Contact us to learn more about SEPs and how they might reduce your tax bill for 2017 and beyond.

The Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017 was signed into law on September 28, 2017 (hereafter referred to as The Disaster Tax Relief Act). The legislation provides tax relief to the victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and funds the Federal Aviation Administration through March 2018.

Although this new law affects individuals and employers, the purpose of this paper is to advise tax exempt organizations concerning one specific area of the new law relating to issuance of charitable contribution acknowledgement letters. The law added a temporary suspension of the adjusted gross income (AGI) limitations that are imposed on qualified charitable contributions. The taxpayer must make an election for the temporary suspension of the AGI limitations to apply.

In general, the law prior to the September 28, 2017 legislation provides that individual’s cash contributions are deductible in any one year up to 50% of AGI and noncash contributions are deductible in any one year up to either 20% or 30% of AGI. Contributions limited by AGI are carried forward to subsequent years for up to five years.

A qualified charitable contribution under the new law is a contribution that was paid during the period beginning August 23, 2017 and ending on December 31, 2017, in cash to an organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A), for relief efforts in the Hurricane Harvey, Irma, or Maria disaster areas. The contribution must be substantiated with a contemporaneous written acknowledgement from the charitable organization that states that the contribution was or is to be used for relief efforts.

Most charitable organizations are aware of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 170(f)(8)(A), which requires that the organization must provide the donor with a written acknowledgement of the donor contribution if the contribution was for $250 or more. IRC Section 6115 requires the charitable organization to provide the donor with a written statement if a contribution is made for $75 or more if part of the contribution is for goods or services (quid pro quo) and the statement must contain a good-faith estimate of the value of goods and services that the charity has provided to the donor. What charitable organizations may not know is that The Disaster Tax Relief Act requires written acknowledgement that not only states that the contribution was or is to be used for relief efforts but also requires a letter to the donor regardless of the size of the contribution.

In summary, charitable organizations that collected funds that were collected during 2017 and used in the relief efforts in the Hurricane Harvey, Irma or Maria disaster areas will want to start working on their acknowledgement letters for 2017 early in 2018 since all qualified relief contributions require an acknowledgement letter.

Note: Regulations may subsequently be issued that affect this provision of the tax law. Check with your tax advisor to determine whether any subsequent tax law changes are made. This paper is not intended to address all the provisions of The Disaster Relief Act but only the provision relating to the issuance of written acknowledgements.

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2017. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.

October 16

If a calendar-year C corporation that filed an automatic six-month extension:

File a 2016 income tax return (Form 1120) and pay any tax, interest and penalties due.

Make contributions for 2016 to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Has your small business procrastinated in setting up a retirement plan? You might want to take a look at a SIMPLE IRA. SIMPLE stands for “savings incentive match plan for employees.” If you decide you’re interested in a SIMPLE IRA, you must establish it by no later than October 1 of the year for which you want to make your initial deductible contribution. (If you’re a new employer and come into existence after October 1, you can establish the SIMPLE IRA as soon as administratively feasible.)

Pros and cons

Here are some of the basics of SIMPLEs:

They’re available to businesses with 100 or fewer employees.

They offer greater income deferral opportunities than individual retirement accounts (IRAs). However, other plans, such as SEPs and 401(k)s, may permit larger annual deductible contributions.

Participant loans aren’t allowed (unlike 401(k) and other plans that can offer loans).

As the name implies, it’s simple to set up and administer these plans. You aren’t required to file annual financial returns.

If your business has other employees, you may have to make SIMPLE IRA employer “matching” contributions.

Contribution amounts

Any employee who has compensation of at least $5,000 in any prior two years, and is reasonably expected to earn $5,000 in the current year, can elect to have a percentage of compensation put into a SIMPLE. An employee may defer up to $12,500 in 2016. This amount is indexed for inflation each year. Employees age 50 or older can make a catch-up contribution of up to $3,000 in 2016.

If your business has other employees, you may have to make SIMPLE IRA employer “matching” contributions.

Consider your choices

A SIMPLE IRA might be a good choice for your small business but it isn’t the only choice. You might also be interested in setting up a simplified employee pension plan, a 401(k) or other plan. Contact us to learn more about a SIMPLE IRA or to hear about other retirement alternatives for your business.

Whether you make your gifts during this season of giving, or spread your charitable giving throughout the year, good record keeping is essential to making sure that you can qualify for the full charitable contribution deduction allowed by IRS.

First, you must be sure that the organization is eligible for a tax-deductible donation. The IRS offers Select Check an online search tool that you can use to verify that you are giving to a qualified organization. Places of worship are also eligible, but not included in this database. Gifts to individuals, political organizations or candidates are not eligible.

You must have documentation for all charitable gifts. See the table below for guidelines according to what type of donation you make.

Vehicle donations require special reporting requirements. Contact your tax professional for details before make your donation.

You need to have all of your acknowledgements in hand before you file your tax return. So now is the time to check your records and contact the recipients if you need statements. Atchley & Associates is happy to answer any questions you have regarding charitable donations deductions and your specific tax situation.